With an increasing number of people venturing into to the food-tech industry, what to eat and where is no longer a difficult question. With several players in the space to answer customer’s query right from nearest restaurants, menu list, food recommendation, availability of space, tech startups’ appetite points to a lucrative market.
We got in touch with Sidhant Bhutani and Kushal Sindhwani, founders of a new player in the food-tech domain, Krumbb – a mobile application that lets the user search for their favorite dishes and at the same time allows them to refer food to their friends and foodies around them, to understand the why-s, what-s and how-s of this industry.
Both Sidhant and Kushal come from the land of delicious food – Amritsar. After finishing their schooling from Bishop Cotton School in Shimla, both chose the beaten track – Sidhant went on to pursue a degree in Engineering while Kushal went on to study Finance from Jai Hind College, Mumbai. Post that, Sidhant worked with AIESEC India for a short while, as the head of Digital Marketing, while Kushal went on to join the Nielsen Academy to work with Nielsen Neuro.
“Amidst the hullabaloo of mundane life, we realised that our interest lay elsewhere. While we were comfortable in our respective lives, we did not find our lives to be fulfilling in the true sense of the term. We wanted to face challenges and overcome them effectively-something that our respective careers seemed unlikely to acquaint us with”, says Kushal.
The Eureka Moment
The idea of Krumbb was born out of a dinner table conversation at a common friend’s place. The sheer magnitude of the prospect of food based start-ups in India is what caught the duo’s fancy. “What struck us was the fact that India as a country is abundant with people who ‘live to eat’ and share”, points Sidhant.
Market Study
Not every Eureka moments yield to a successful business idea.
“We did a substantial amount of market research before deciding to pursue our idea. Our main focus was secondary research since we had a lot of information to pick from the recent trends already”, says Sidhant.
India’s restaurant industry alone values to INR 75,000 Crores. Recently, quiet a good number of promising startups have been looked up in food domain which has gained a delightful sight of venture capitalists & investors.
“Food photography and food reviewing trend is picking up considerably fast too; one can simple observe this on Instagram. However, there was no platform that was combining the two – exploring food and talking specifically about food”, points Sidhant. To validate the idea, they circulated questionnaires to their core target group and received feedback that favored their assumption. “Based on the response, we developed our product and got it reviewed by a sample audience. We incorporated our sample’s ideas and suggestions and that is what makes us confident about our product”, Sidhant says.
Revenue Model
“We initially used our personal savings. Next, we pitched the idea to our parents. It was difficult, since they don’t come from a generation that understands app-world. We kept on improvising on the business model till they were convinced” , says Sidhant.
Krumbb launched its Android app in April 2015 and has been able to attract a customer base of 1400 active users in less than 2 months. “For a product like our’s, major revenue comes through restaurants’ advertisement and promotion of their dishes”, says Sidhant.
Marketing Strategy
People are used to posting food pictures on Instagram and Facebook; review food on Zomato. Talking about their marketing strategy, Sidhant says, “Creating a habit is difficult.We are trying to capitalize on the power of social media, ensuring that everyone who is active on social media is a part of Krumbb. We are constantly providing quality content to our customers.”
An environment where tech startups in food domain is a booming bubble, Krumbb takes the challenge head-on. “The space we are trying to capture invites people to share their love for food. We sincerely hope that being the front runners in this category, we will be able to utilize its maximum potential”, says Sidhant.
Future Plans
“Our focus right now is on the launch of Krumbb’s iOS version. We are also looking to raise funds from investors”, Sidhant adds.
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